國考應援團(原公職王網路書局)

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Samuel Huntington got it wrong, at least when it comes to art. Civilizations don’t clash, but share and __1__ inspire. So argues “Beyond Orientalism,” an exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. The show examines Islamic art’s impact on Western artists, highlighting how Islamic calligraphy, tile designs, and geometrical motifs pop up in the most __2__ places, from Tiffany lamps—some of which drew on 16th century Persian works—to the art of M.C. Escher, whose elaborate drawings of endless staircases and interlocking patterns were apparently inspired by Islamic designs.

__3__ the debt owed to Islamic art by painters like Henri Matisse and Paul Klee is well documented, Muslim influence on Western aesthetics began far earlier, says the curator of “Beyond Orientalism,” Lucien de Guise. The Muslim domination of Spain between the 8th and 15th centuries enabled the __4__ of advanced artistic and architectural techniques—as well as great accomplishments in music, science, philosophy, and even cuisine. Until the industrial era, when interest in Islamic art declined in the West, “Europeans were totally in awe of Islamic art,” argues de Guise. “They couldn’t get enough of it.”